Nearly half of all people said they can tell a coworker’s mood by their greetings and sign-offs. Get this: 91% said the people they work with are sometimes passive-aggressive via email. Ouch.
A new survey from Preply has some guidance if you’re maybe, accidentally, oops that person.
Hey, hi, hello
The most aggressive way to start an email, in fact, is with no greeting at all. A super casual greeting like “hiya” can come off the same way. And 43% say using someone’s name with a column (“Kim:”) is too aggressive to ever use.
“Hi Kim,” “Good morning/afternoon/evening” and “Hello Kim” are all perfectly fine. The most “uptight” greetings? “Dear Kim,” “Greetings Kim “ “Greetings.” Feels very … handwritten letter.
See ya
Sign-offs matter, too. 80% go with “thank you.” About half of those surveyed only sign off with their names. Way down at the bottom: Kind regards at 16%. Yeah, it sounds old-fashioned.
So 2015
What about that note at the end of your mobile emails? “Sent from my iPhone” or “Sent from my phone, please excuse typos.” Lose it. We all know by now.
Emojis are contentious
About 40% said they’re never appropriate in work emails, and everyone else thinks they’re OK sometimes. I’m all for them unless it’s a super-serious email.
Respectfully,
Kim